Vic Falls Safari Club and Ngoma upgrades

THE exclusive Victoria Falls Safari Club in Zimbabwe and the luxurious Ngoma Safari Lodge in Botswana are set to undergo major upgrades, Africa Albida Tourism chief executive Ross Kennedy says.
The projects, to be completed by early next year, include the addition of a boutique restaurant and horizon swimming pool to Victoria Falls Safari Club, while four new suites will be built at Ngoma Safari Lodge, bringing the total to 12, Mr Kennedy said.
The Safari Club upgrade will include the expansion of the existing lounge, which will also be fitted with plush soft furnishings, allowing guests to enjoy a personalized butler service, complimentary snacks, and spectacular views of the resort’s central waterhole and wildlife-rich plains in comfort.
Beneath the Club lounge and deck, a boutique restaurant and kitchen will serve a continental breakfast with an assortment of fresh fruit, pastries, cereals, breads, cheeses and meats as well as cooked options, light, modern lunch dishes, and a tasting menu style dinner.
An horizon swimming pool and deck, facing the waterhole, will be built at a slightly lower level, for guests of the premium 20-room Victoria Falls Safari Club, located just 4km from one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.
“We are always reviewing our products, facilities and experience that we offer and this process continues with Victoria Falls Safari Club,” Mr Kennedy said.
“We have listened to our guests and to our partners in the travel industry and are in the process of designing and costing a major upgrade to the Safari Club,” he said.
“Architects are completing design drawings as we speak and the feedback from our loyal agents and tour operators has all been taken into consideration in this plan.”
Work is scheduled to commence in November 2015, break for the festive season, and be completed by the end of February next year, Mr Kennedy said.
Ngoma Safari Lodge in Chobe, Botswana, will have four new luxury suites, bringing the total to 12, and the size of the central area’s lounge and bar will be doubled to accommodate the extra guests.
The upgrade, which is planned for the first three-months of 2016, will also include new soft furnishings added to both the central area and the suites, and all of the bathrooms will be re-tiled.
“The success of Ngoma has led us to look at expansion on the back of demand that we can’t meet at certain times of the year, and as with the Safari Club, we are advanced with the design and planning of four more suites at the Lodge,” Mr Kennedy said.
“Once again, in listening to our valued partners in the trade, we are considering how to incorporate a family and/or private safari unit within this expansion – we are looking at joining two of the suites together, with their own private lounging area,” he said.
“As soon as plans and details of these two projects are complete and dates of project work commencing are known, we shall of course, inform the trade. Both of these may involve a short period of shutdown, but again, we will communicate well in advance of such,” he said.
Zimbabwe-owned hospitality group Africa Albida Tourism operates hotels and restaurants in Victoria Falls and Chobe, Botswana, including its flagship property, Victoria Falls Safari Lodge.